I am a trauma-informed, culturally responsive youth development professional with a background in media and education. Currently, I manage the Y-CAP (Youth in Care - College Advocate Program), a collaboration between Foster Progress and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Y-CAP supports youth in care as they navigate college life by offering student-led, campus-based events, training, and access to resources. In this role, I lead program development, implementation, and partnership-building to ensure students succeed academically and socially.In addition to my work with Y-CAP, I continue to support Outlast Arts and Education, a non-profit I founded in 2015. Outlast empowers Black and Native youth in South Dakota through arts, education, and community engagement. Created to address the systemic inequities faced by Native youth, Outlast is run by Native and BIPOC experts and Outlast graduates. Through the organization, I help youth create their own films, amplifying their voices and challenging harmful stereotypes. Our students' work has been featured in Teen Vogue, AfroPunk, and Indian Country Today. Outlast has since expanded its mission to provide underserved youth with access to higher education and careers in film and media.I also hold a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University and have experience as an elementary school educator, with a commitment to advocating for equitable education, particularly for Black and Native youth.With a Bachelor’s in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California, I have worked on major productions like Spiderman: Homecoming and Black Panther. As a cinematographer, I’ve contributed to several commercials and documentaries, including Logo TV’s Light in the Water.